The father of a 14-year-old girl who took her own life after being bullied online and at school has called for cyber-bullying to be made a specific criminal offence in the UK. Mariano Janin, whose daughter Mia Janin died in March 2021, told the BBC that existing laws are insufficient to protect children from online harassment.
Mia, a pupil at Jewish Free School (JFS) in London, was found dead at her home in Harrow a day after returning to school following the lifting of Covid lockdown restrictions. Her parents later discovered she had been targeted by a group of male students on social media and in person. In a voice note sent to a friend the night before her death, Mia said: 'Tomorrow's going to be a rough day, I'm taking deep breaths in and out. I'm currently mentally preparing myself to get bullied tomorrow.'
Mr Janin said: 'I think we need to do something against bullying. We need to revise the existing legislation about bullying, try to understand and try to act, do something.' He added that while teaching values such as kindness is important, legal boundaries for social media are also necessary. The UK currently has no specific law on bullying or cyber-bullying, with courts relying on legislation around harassment and malicious communications.
Mr Janin also expressed support for the Online Safety Bill, which became law in October 2023, calling it a 'first step' towards real change. However, he stopped short of backing calls from Esther Ghey, whose daughter Brianna was murdered in 2023, to ban social media on smartphones for under-16s, saying society must learn to live with technology.
Four months after Mia's death, her mother Marisa died from an aneurysm and leukaemia. Mr Janin said he has 'accepted' what happened but will never understand it, adding that he now lives in an 'empty house with a small dog'. He also criticised the school's handling of the bullying investigation, though JFS said it had handed all information to the police and given open access to its systems.
A coroner's report earlier this week urged JFS to take further action on bullying, particularly the targeting of female pupils by males. While the school has overhauled its policies, the report noted that new initiatives 'do not appear to have gained the confidence of some JFS female students'. Mr Janin welcomed the intervention but said he remains concerned that the school is not doing enough, stating: 'This culture of wilful ignorance needs to change and it needs to change now.'
